Sociology Commons^™

Tiger Moms, Dragon Dads, And Baby Pandas: Cultural Expectations Of Success Among Asian-American College Students, Corinne Tam

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Family sociologists explore the societal conditions contributing to the need for young adults to move home following the completion of school. This is known as the boomerang phenomenon, and it can be seen as part of a new life stage in which young adults explore their identities, are unstable and self-focused, feel in-between adolescence and adulthood, and sense broad possibilities for the future. Although scholars explore this condition for contemporary young adults, previous literature does not account for the extra pressures that Asian-Americans face. This research project asks, How do college-aged Asian-Americans deal with expectations of success in a contemporary …

Renaming Me: Assessing The Influence Of Gender Identity On Name Selection, Sharon Obasi, Richard Mocarski, Natalie Holt, Debra Hope, Nathan Woodruff

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Our identity is our name connected with a specific face and body. Yet, our name, a critical aspect of the “names-body-identity” nexus is rarely selfselected. The naming of a newborn is often the purview of family and the name selected is often linked to the sex assigned to the child. Assigned sex, however, may differ from gender identity. Renaming, the process of selecting and using a new name, can be instrumental in expressing an authentic gender identity. Thus, gender identity and renaming were examined among transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) adults using an online survey. Participants indicated that the recognition …

Doing Family: The Reproduction Of Heterosexuality In Accounts Of Parenthood, Emily Kazyak, Nicholas K. Park

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The cultural and legal landscape in the United States has shifted towards increased recognition of LGBQ-parent families. This shift raises questions about the everyday experiences of LGBQ parents and whether the cultural and legal changes also manifest in diminished experiences of discrimination. Drawing on data from 74 interviews with LGBQ parents, we analyze their accounts of whether they are read as a parent by others in their daily interactions. Our findings reveal the ways in which heterosexuality is a key component of how membership to the category of ‘parent’ is produced in social interactions. Our findings also illustrate how assumptions …

Living Arrangements, Proximity To Child/Parent And Depressive Symptoms Among Older Adults, Haemi Chung

MA Research Paper

Studies have demonstrated the links between living arrangements and depressive symptoms among older adults. Yet, little is known about how these associations may differ among foreign- and native-born older adults who have different needs and expectations for family relations. Using the Health and Retirement Study, I examine predictors of living arrangements among native- and foreign-born adults over the age of 50 using multinomial logistic regressions. I also run a series of logistic regressions to examine the association between living arrangements and risk of high depressive symptoms. The results show that nativity and immigration characteristics are significant predictors of living arrangements. …

The Interrelated Nature Of Trauma: Exploring The Narratives Of Persons Living With A Family Member Who Has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Emily Johnson

MA Research Paper

The study of the relationship between work-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the family has commonly been approached from both a psychological and psychiatric perspective. Moreover, these studies have primarily focused on how PTSD impacts familial relationships from the perspective of the individual who has PTSD, while little attention has been placed on the viewpoint of family members. By using data obtained from Beyond Blue and Reddit, the current study aims to redress this gap by directly exploring the perceptions of family members living with an emergency service worker who has PTSD. A qualitative content analysis was conducted using …

Capturing The Diversity Within Canadian Families, Kathya Aathavan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Mixed partnerships are unions between two people that cross socially constructed boundaries between groups, particularly race and ethnicity and they are an aspect of diversity within Canadian society. Using the 2006 and 2016 Canadian long-form censuses, I examine mixed unions, measured as partnerships across different visible minority categories and places of birth. I find that there is more diversity within unions than what is captured just using visible minority status. Being highly educated, living in census metropolitan areas, and in same-sex partnerships are predictors of mixed unions indicative of barriers to mixed partnerships possibly being less salient among these groups. …

Family Demography: Macmillan Encyclopedia Of Families, Marriages, And Intimate Relationships, Aurea K. Osgood

Sociology Faculty Publications

Family Demography is a book chapter from the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Families, Marriages, and Intimate Relationships. This encyclopedia was published in August 2019. Dr. Osgood is a faculty member in the Sociology, Criminal Justice, & Geography Department at Winona State University.

“Go West Young Man, And Grow Up With This Country”: Settler Colonialism, Gender And Property, Connor Van Alstine

Sociology & Anthropology Theses

As a theoretical starting point, this paper takes up Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity which posits that gender configurations are shifting and determined by whichever expectations best motivate behaviors that reinforce a hierarchical and complementary relation between genders. This hierarchical structure, following theorizations by Maria Lugones, is itself a product of the colonial encounter. With this in mind, this paper compares historical shifts in American gender configurations to the material demands of settlement. Utilizing existing research into settler gender identity between 1760 and 1870, it finds that the increasing emphasis on domesticity in gender discourses concretized gender configurations in the …

Queering Kinship: Lgbtq Parents And The Creation Of Real Utopias, Laura V. Heston

Doctoral Dissertations

Parenting in queer families calls into question some of our most fundamental assumptions: that parents are biologically related to their children, that only women give birth, that all fathers are men, that families push away friendships and communities based in anything other than “blood” ties, and that parenting is life-long. In this dissertation, presented through five in-depth family case studies and a series of analytic chapters based on fifty semi-structured interviews with LGBTQ adults in families with children I discuss gay sperm donors, gestational fathers, non-binary foster parents, transwomen dads, queer adopters of kids from queer birth parents, trans step-dads, …

Kumain Na Tayo! Exploring The Role Of Food In Communicating Tradition And Instilling Familial Values, Aaron Negrillo

Student Research

As a core part of Asian values, family plays a huge role in developing the individual’s identity. Family strongly contributes to the passing down of traditions and values. The expression of cultural values can be observed through many surface-level interactions such as food and meal rituals. This auto-ethnography explores the link between food and culture, specifically how it serves as a vehicle of communication that passes down traditions and values. The underlying core values of hospitality, respect, and sacrifice stand emerged from the thematic analysis conducted. Overall, food can be understood as a tangible expression of love: creating something for …

Group Distinctiveness And Ethnic Identity Among 1.5 And Second-Generation Russian-Speaking Jewish Immigrants In Germany And The U.S., Jay (Koby) Oppenheim

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study investigates the ethnic identity of the 1.5 and second-generation of Russian-speaking Jewish immigrants to Germany and the U.S. in the most recent wave of immigration. Between 1989 and the mid-2000s, approximately 320,000 Russian-speaking Jewish immigrants departed the (former) Soviet Union for the U.S. and an additional 220,000 moved to Germany. The 1.5 and second-generations have successfully integrated into mainstream institutions, like schools and the workforce, but not the co-ethnic Jewish community in each country. Moreover, Russian-speaking Jewish immigrants are subject to a number of critiques, most prominently, of having a ‘thin culture’ that relies on abstract forms of …

Independent Women? Social Class And Social Policy After The Gender Revolution In The West, Berglind H. Ragnarsdóttir

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The gender revolution of the mid-20^th century resulted in extensive changes in social, economic, and policy realms. With their unprecedented entrance into the paid labor market, women moved toward greater economic independence. However, it remains unclear whether these changes in women’s economic well-being resulted in positive change for women across the class spectrum. The large-scale entrance of women into paid labor was not accompanied by men’s equal take up in unpaid domestic work. Thus, women found themselves struggling to balance work and family life and as a result, gender inequality in employment outcomes persists. In this dissertation I explore …

A Mother Promotes Cognitive And Affective Outcomes Via Museum Education On Arab American Immigrants’ Culture: A Vygotskian Perspective, Navaz P. Bhavnagri, Suha K. Kamash

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

A Chaldean Catholic immigrant mother from Iraq kept a journal about how her Arab American daughters (ages 9 and 15) visited museums for the first time and participated in museum-related activities that focused on them (1) understanding and developing empathy for all new immigrants coming to the U.S.; (2) understanding and developing appreciation of Arab American im- migrants’ culture; and (3) being exposed to limited Arabic vocabulary related to museum artifacts. The mother’s anecdotal observations, informal conver- sational interviews, and photographs documented her daughters’ learning processes and outcomes. The cognitive processes and outcomes (e.g., under- standing, meaning making through personal …

From Test To Testimony: Resiliency After A Tbi Diagnosis, Quanisha Miffin, Archana V. Hegde, Paige Averett, Natalia Sira

The Qualitative Report

Autoethnographic research is a relatively new means of gathering data on oneself to connect to research and theory while advocating for change within a policy, law, and/ or environment. In this autoethnography I will recount the experience of my traumatic brain injury (TBI) diagnosis following a car accident and present a few implications for the professionals and members of the society at large surrounding the issue of TBI such as the need for awareness and understanding as well as the importance of therapy and other forms of care within different cultures. When I was first diagnosed, many people did not …

Betrayed Partners And Men With Poisoned Souls: Interview With A Former Sex Buyer In Germany, Ingeborg Kraus

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Reversing Borrón Y Cuenta Nueva: The Curative Power Of Family Memory In The Novels Of Loida Maritza Perez And Nelly Rosario, Ivonne Gonzalez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

I examine two novels, Geographies of Home by Loida Maritza Perez and Song of the Water Saints by Nelly Rosario, written by Dominican American authors, to determine how they present identity with relation to family history in conjunction with an analysis of my life and the circumstances that have helped define my identity. I explore how the characters in the texts are affected by the loss of family history, the role that gaze and family memory play in reclaiming that which is lost, and how these all shape identity. The families in the novels seem destined to lead desolate lives; …

Thanks To You, I'M Alive, Antonio Scott Nichols

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Antonio Nichols

Artist Statement:

In this project I am using figurative painting to explore the meaning of relationships/emotion and my connection to the people I am painting. I question what this means and how each individual’s identity ties to mine and why it may or may not matter. “Thanks to You, I’m Alive,” the title of this project, encompasses the message I am sending not only to the individuals I painted but also to the viewer because there is a certain exclusivity in who I decided to paint.

I want the connection I have with these people to not only …

“We Are A Very Happy Family”: 19th-Century Familial Power Dynamics, Stella A. Ress

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

This article examines the roles of family members in the mid-19th century in America, using the Willard family as a case study. Ultimately, this thick description of the Willard family demonstrates that power within the family structure was neither intrinsic nor static; moreover, one person did not control the family and its decisions at all times. Instead, each family member, depending upon circumstances, situations, and his or her own nature, negotiated and laid claim to power through various sources of authority. Josiah Willard’s authority stemmed from his role as father and husband; society crowned him king of the household, and …

Rising Expenditures On Pets, Rachel Marsh

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The purpose of my paper is to highlight the rising expenditures on pets in the United States and to elucidate possible reasons behind this trend, considering the role(s) pets play within families especially in place of human counterparts. Robert K Merton's notion of latent and manifest functions provide the theoretical framework. I consider the popular works Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, John Grogan's Marley and Me, and the Disney film The Fox and the Hound, as well as turn to statistics regarding how much money people are spending on their pets and specific areas where …